STARRY-EYED Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

starry-eyed

adjective

ˈstär-ē-ˌīd

Definition of starry-eyed

as in romantic

having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality the starry-eyed notion that international sports competitions actually help foster global harmony

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of starry-eyed Even amid dismal ratings for the US government overall, views of NASA remain relatively starry-eyed. — Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026 It had supposedly been made in the nineteen-forties, for an Italian countess or an English lady, then scrapped, and afterward either smuggled out of the workroom by a starry-eyed seamstress or, with the atelier head’s approval, given to one of the in-house models. — Han Ong, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026 But Sexistential, released in March, pushes in the opposite direction, toward starry-eyed excess and abandon. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026 On Tuesday night, as the NFL world reeled with the Maxx Crosby news and the NBA was starry-eyed at Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, the rest of us were watching Team Italy embarrass the good ol’ US of A with an 8-6 win in the World Baseball Classic. — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for starry-eyed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for starry-eyed

Adjective

The Saturday Night Live alum worked with Fey on that show and on his current romantic dramedy, Netflix’s The Four Seasons.

— Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026
But though these chemicals are linked to mating in animal species, a link between pheromones and romantic attraction hasn’t been established in humans.

— Rachel Hale, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of romantic

Adjective

Force majeure clauses excuse a party from performance when an unforeseeable external event like extreme weather or war makes performance impossible or impractical.

— Ashlee Difuntorum, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
There is no justification for American deaths in the name of the unsustainable and impractical goal of total military dominance, let alone unnecessary wars of choice.

— Alexander Langlois, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of impractical

Adjective

After an idealistic youth and a subsequent nervous breakdown, our eldest Ramona, Ramona Jover, eventually finds strength in resignation to what a woman born in the 1800s can ever do or be.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Harper arrived at Bates College in Maine in 2020 as an idealistic new PhD in comparative literature, grateful for the tenure-track job that promised him that rarest of prizes these days — a career in the humanities.

— Gary Rosen, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of idealistic

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starry

starry-eyed

stars

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“Starry-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/starry-eyed. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of starry-eyed

adjective

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